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February 04, 2008

The Mavs will try their best to regroup against the Orlando Magic tonight, which will put a merciful end to a brutal Eastern road trip. They face the Orlando Magic, the third straight opponent that is leading a division. The last time the Mavs played the Magic, they won a tight contest 111-108. It was their third straight against Orlando.

Streaking alongThe Magic have won four straight and have won seven of their last eight. The first win of their current four-game streak was against the Boston Celtics, who, in case you hadn't heard, are quite good. They are averaging 108 points in that streak, which is 41 points more than the Mavs scored yesterday afternoon (just saying).

Turkish delightIt's hard to believe that Hedo Turkoglu deserves to be an All Star, but he surely does. He was snubbed, but that's no surprise. Even though the Magic have been near the top of the East all year, Turkoglu just isn't the kind of player you'd expect to voted onto an All-Star team. His numbers are great though, and he's been the Magic's best player behind Dwight Howard. His season averages are impressive, but he's been out of site over his last five games averaging 24.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5 assists and shooting 54 percent. Believe it or not, those numbers top Dwight Howard in overall production.

Distributors uncertainJameer Nelson has been up-and-down and injured all year, which has left Carlos Arroyo to pick up the slack when Nelson is playing badly or sitting in street clothes. Arroyo is a capable backup, but has never been a go-to guy in his career. With a powerful big man like Dwight Howard, perimeter threats like Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Keith Bogans, a capable point man is of the utmost importance. The Magic have Nelson locked up until 2013, so they better hope he's going to pan out as the point guard they want him to be. Otherwise, they could be in the market for a capable distributor again...and be saddled with a long cumbersome contract.

Random useless factAdonal Foyle didn't start playing organized basketball until he was 16. It's also debatable whether or not he's been playing organized ball for the last five years.

Burning questionThey have played very well during the regular season and will make the playoffs, but can they overcome inexperience in the playoffs?

December 17, 2007

The Mavs return home tonight against Orlando Magic for the first of three games in Dallas. They have won two straight and are coming off an encouraging win in Houston. While the Mavericks have won four of their last five, the Magic have lost four of their last five and are almost even with the Mavs in record at 17-8. The Mavs have won 7 of their last 9 against Orlando and took both matchups last season. With wins in both their meetings this year, the Mavs could finally reach .500 as a franchise against Orlando. They currently sit at 18-20 all time.

Dwight Howard is embarrassing other playersAnybody doubting the Magic for drafting Dwight Howard ahead of Emeka Okafor now? Howard's dominance has been well documented this season, and most of the time, he makes it look easy when he's chin level with the rim and putting some unlucky defender in a bad place. It isn't even surprising anymore when he busts out with a 20-plus rebound game. LeBron James may be the only player in the league right now that is more valuable long term, and even that is arguable. Rest assured that Dampier and Diop will have than their hands full even staying in front of Howard tonight, much less trying to contain him once he's on the low block.

Offense is rain or shineLately, the Magic offense has either been off an running or grinding to a halt without much middle ground. They're either scoring over 100 or under 90 and haven't been nearly as consistent on the offensive end as they were through their first 15 games of the season. In their last five games, they've scored 119, 103, 86, 87 and 109. Despite a solid offensive showing Saturday night, the Magic defense couldn't stop a three-point barrage from the Pau Gasol-less Grizzlies.

Lewis is day-to-dayRashard Lewis sat out Saturday's game with neck spasms, but is traveling with the team to Dallas and Houston over this two-game road trip. It sounds like a garden variety injury and most indications point to him playing. He's been consistent for the Magic so far this season after signing a max contract in the offseason and is a big key for Orlando. With him and Hedo Turkoglu scoring from all over, it helps open Dwight Howard up even more and give the other Magic players space to operate.